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COTTON 



IN THE 



MIDDLE STATES, 



WITH DIRECTIONS 



FOE ITS EASY CULTUEE. 



GfEMERSON, M. B., 

AUTHOK OF THE FARMER'S AND PLANTER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



^ PHILADELPHIA: 

H. L. BUTLER, PEINTER, S, E. COR. SECOND AND MARKET STREETS. 

1862. 



CONTENTS. 



Cotton introduced into the United States, on the Eastern shore of Mary- 
land and lower counties of Delaware, long before the Revolution, Page 3 

Its Culture there limited, but never abandoned, 4 

Remarkable Prediction of President Madison in 1786, " 

Limitation to Cotton Culture before the invention of the Gin, and aston- 
ishing results following its introduction, «' 

Can Cotton be raised to Profit by the Farmers in the lower counties of 
Delaware, and other parts of the Peninsula between the Chesapeake 

and Delaware Bays? 5 

Successes obtained in Camden, Delaware, 6 

^fo more skill required in the Culture of Cotton than for that of Corn,... " 

Calculation of Profits of the two Crops, " 

Mode of Culture, and Varieties, 8 9 

Preparation of the Ground. Time and modes of Planting, with minute 

instructions for the Management of the Crop, 8 9 10 

Picking. — Ginning, 11 

Artificial means to hasten maturity and lengthen the Picking Season, 12 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, 

By G. EMERSON, M.D., 

In the Clerk's OfBce of the District Coiu-t of the United States, for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 






<^^ 



COTTON IN THE MIDDLE STATES. 



Long before the Southern States took up its regular culture, 
Cotton was raised on the eastern shore of Maryland, lower counties 
of Delaware, and other places in the Middle States. As early as 
1736, and for some time after, it was chiefly regarded as an 
ornamental plant, and confined to gardens ; but it soon became 
appreciated for its useful qualities, and was brought under regular 
cultivation. This culture, though comparatively limited in those 
places, has never been entirely abandoned up to the present day. 
I have myself seen many families who came from Sussex county, 
Delaware, to reside in the adjoining county of Kent, wearing 
clothes made of cotton of their own raising, spinning and weaving. 

The culture of Cotton in this section of our country gradually 
diminished in consequence of the vast area over which the plant 
"was extended in more southern States. In competition with 
these, our more northern farmers found they possessed superier 
advantages for raising other field crops, from which they de- 
rived greater profits. 

Limited as has been the culture of Cotton on the peninsula be 
tween the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, it has furnished a 
demonstration of the highest importance to our country. In proof 
of this, it may be stated that at the close of the Revolution, a Con- 
vention was held at Annapolis, in 1786, to consider what means 
could be best resorted to for the purpose of remedying the em- 
barrassments of the country, then so much exhausted in its 
finances. The late President Madison, a member of this Con- 
vention, from Virginia, there expressed it as his opinion, that 
from the results of Cotton raising in Talbot county, Maryland, 
and numerous other proofs furnished in Virginia^ there was no 



reason to doubt " that the United State?: would one day become 
a great Cotton producing country!" It would hence appear 
that the first culture of Cotton in the United States, worthy of 
notice, was made on the peninsula between the Delaware and 
Chesapeake Bays, from whence it crossed into Western Mary- 
land and Virginia, and so went Southwards. < 

It must be borne in mind, that before and some time after the 
Kevolution, Cotton necessarily commanded a high price, as it 
was chiefly imported from distant countries, and the home pro- 
duct was very limited. Its seeds were then picked from the 
wool by the tedious labor of the hands, the practice pursued 
from time immemorial by Egyptians, Hindoos, Chinese and other 
Cotton producers, in all ages and countries. Some idea of the 
labor formerly expended in the primitive mode of separating 
cotton from its seed, may be formed from the fact that a pound 
a day of clean cotton was considered a fair task for a hand. 
Under such circumstances, it was easy to raise more than could 
be picked from the seed by hand-work. At this juncture 
American ingenuity came into play, and Eli Whitney, about the 
year 1793, invented his famous Cotton Gin, by means of Avhich 
a new era in the culture of Cotton was established, three hands, 
assisted by water-poiver, being now able to separate, in the same 
time, as much cotton from its seed, as would before have required 
three thousand pair of hands ! The chief impediment in the way 
of Cotton raising being now removed, a new impetus was given to 
this branch of American agriculture, with the most astonishing 
results. The quantity raised became so great, and the price so 
much reduced, that Cotton wool finally took precedence of all 
other textile fibres employed for clothing and other useful pur- 
poses. Millions of people at home and abroad, found employ- 
ment, either in the culture, transportation, or manufacture of 
the rich crops of superior Cotton produced from American soil ; 
and its well known importance has finally led the Southern States 
to believe that having the chief monoply of such an indispensable 
article, they might readily make it the means of establishing their 



independence. The direful events wMch have grown out of this 
belief, are unhappily too familiar to us all, and urge the necessity 
of resorting to means calculated to protect us in future against 
such tyranical dictation. 

In this struggle for mastery, the supply of Southern Cotton 
being at present mainly cut off so as to enhance the price, three 
or four fold, it becomes interesting to those who live in localities 
farther north, favorable to the development of the Cotton plant, 
to consider whether it may not be to their advantage to direct 
attention to its culture, the success of which rests upon the 
answers that may be given to the following questions : — 

1st. Have we in any part of the Middle States a climate and 
soil adapted to the culture of Cotton ? 

2d. Have we at hand the necessary skill to cultivate and pre- 
pare the crop for market, so as to render it an object of 
greater profit than our present agricultural staples ? 

The first question is partially answered by the knowledge we 
possess, that Cotton has heretofore been raised in the lower por- 
tion of the peninsula between the Delaware and Chesapeake 
Bays, so as to form an important item in home industry. 

A lady living in Camden, Delaware, some time since picked 
some stray seeds from cotton which she had bought, and planted 
them in the garden ; these grew and perfected their pods, from 
which she picked the cotton, spun it into thread, and knit 
several pairs of stockings. 

A colored family, of the name of Miller, came last year from 
Sussex county, to live in Camden, Delaware, bringing with them 
the seed of cotton which they had always cultivated and spun 
and wove for clothing. The cotton in this new situation per- 
fected itself well, and I have succeeded in getting about a quart 
of the seed, which, with as much more as I can obtain from other 
places, — enough, I hope, to put on several acres, — I shall plant 
near the same place the present season. This family made it 
a rule to plant their cotton on the 12th day of May. 



Friends of mine in Kent county, Delaware, have obtained 
cotton seed from the neighboring county of Caroline, Maryland, 
■where it was raised last year, and has been cultivated every 
year in a small way, for family uses, since its first introduction 
on the peninsula. 

The instances here cited might appear trifling if they did not 
afford positive assurances of the ability to mature Cotton in the 
kcilities named. 

2d. In answer to the second question, relating to the skill 
lequired for managing the crop in all its stages — it may be ob- 
served that for the preparation of the ground, and all subse- 
quent operations in culture, no more skill is required than what 
is usually demanded in the raising of corn. The picking, drying 
and ginning, are simple processes, performed by common hands 
of all ages and sexes. 

COMPARATIVE PROFITS OF COTTON AND CORN. 

In the mixed husbandry of the South, a hand is allotted the 
same number of acres to till in corn as in cotton ; showing that 
so far as labor is concerned, the costs of the two crops are about 
the same. In the picking, ginning and packing of cotton, more 
expense may be incurred than in the gathering and shelling of 
corn. 

Supposing an acre to produce 125 pounds of clean cotton- 
wool, this, at 20 cts. per pound, (far below the present price,) 
would bring $25.00. The value of the seed would perhaps be 
equal, if not superior, to that of an ordinary oat crop ; it con- 
tains over nine per cent, of its weight of a valuable oil, which in 
many countries, and even in our OAvn, is used for eating, burning 
and other purposes. It has been bottled up in this country and 
sold as table oil, not, of course, under its proper name. As the 
seed constitutes about three-quarters of the weight of the crop, 
and when abundant, sells by the bushel for about the price of oats, 
its value will perhaps more than cover most, if not all the costs 
of preparation of the crop for market. 



Land which would yield no more than 125 pounds of clean 
cotton, or the average of the old cotton fields in the South, 
would hardly produce 20 bushels of corn per acre, which at fifty 
cents, would bring $10-00 ; so that 10 acres in cotton would 
yeild $250, whilst 10 acres in corn would bring only $100 ; a 
difference in favor of cotton of $15-00 per acre, and $150 in 
10 acres, or $1,500 in every hundred acres, over its produce in 
corn. Land which would yield more corn, would of course give 
more cotton. 

As the price of Cotton has advanced to nearly double that 
upon which this estimate is based, the profits of Cotton must be 
correspondingly increased. Should the threats of desperate 
Southern planters, to burn their Cotton crops, and plant only 
corn, be carried out, there is no telling how much higher the 
price of Cotton may be advanced, and that of corn reduced. 

How long Southern competition may be cut oif, remains to be 
ascertained from the results of momentous events now trans- 
piring. Until it is resumed, and probably for some years to 
come, Cotton may be a most profitable crop in all situations 
where the soil and climate are favorable to its growth.* 

CULTURE AND VARIETIES. 

For the benefit of persons unacquainted with the processes 
pursued in raising Cotton, I will state what these are, in the 
shortest and plainest manner. It is not to be expected that any 
very extensive trials will be made the present season. But surely 
it becomes those interested in promoting the agricultural interests 
of the Middle States, to engage in experiments, on however small 
a scale, if only an acre, half acre, quarter, or even the eighth of 

* Tobcacco, another great Southern staple crop, is raised in large quantities 
in the Northern and Eastern States. In New York there are fields of twenty 
to twenty-five acres, and in Connecticut Tobacco constitutes a large item of 
its agricultural products. Why may not Cotton and Tobacco too, be added 
to the agricultural resources of Delaware ? 



8 

an acre each, in different situations. For any such I think the 
following details will suffice to direct them through all stages of 
the crop. Thej are chiefly ohtained from the " Farmer's and 
Planter's Encyclopaedia," which work I published several years 
ago.* Some additions have been since made after consulting 
those brought up among the cotton fields of the Southern States. 

It may be well to mention that the only kind of Cotton to which 
I refer as an object for cultivation in the Middle States, is what 
is known as the Green Seed, Upland, or Short Staple. The Sea 
Island, or Black Seed variety, raised on the coasts of South 
Carolina and Georgia, is not adapted to general culture. Trials 
made among us with Sea Island seed, would doubtless be attended 
with discouraging results. 

As a general rule, the maturity of plants is effected in much 
less time in northern than in southern situations. The plant- 
ing is made in the Southern States, from the first to the last day 
of April, so as to place it beyond danger from frost. There are 
varieties of Upland Cotton, such as the Mexican or Petit Gulf — 
so much cultivated in the South-western States — which attain to 
maturity a fortnight in advance of other kinds, and such would 
doubtless answer best for those who engage in the culture in 
more northern situations. 

PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 

The ground is to be deeply and thoroughly broken with the 
plough, and it is important to have this done very early. The 
soil should be made as loose as possible and just before planting 
time, thrown into ridges or beds. As soon as there is no danger 
from frost, say from the first to the middle of May, the planting 
may begin. But this should be a little later than is safe for 
corn, which when nipped by frost generally shoots up again. 
Cotton when onte nipped by frost never survives. 

*See Gossyppium, a long article, embracing much more on the subject of 
Cotton, its culture, statistics, &c., than can be compressed into this inten- 
tionally small pamphlet. 



PLANTING. 

This may be made in hills like corn, but the general practice 
is to put it in drills. The direction of the rows should be such 
as to give the plants the fullest benefits of the sun ; the distance 
of the rows apart is to be regulated by the quality of the soil, 
the richer the farther apart. On land capable of producing fifteen 
or twenty bushels of corn to the acre, the rows may be four feet 
apart ; thirty to fifty bushels, five to six feet apart. The rows 
about four feet, and the plants left ten inches apart, will afford 
good average distances. 

The rows are to be signed out as straightly as possible, so as 
to admit the plough to run closely to the plants when these come 
to be cultivated. A very small, narrow and light plow is used 
to run out the rows ; the furrows to be very shallow and along 
the top of the ridge, the soil having previously been made very 
loose and fine. 

The seed are to be dropped with great regularity along the 
shalloAV trenches, about as far apart as bunch beans. Half a 
bushel has sometimes been made to plant an acre, although it is 
common in the South to strew the seed much thicker in the rows, 
several bushels to the acre being used ; what is not allowed to 
grow, operates as manure upon the crop. The seed must be 
covered with hoes, very lightly, not over an inch deep. It is 
recommended to soak the seed previous to planting, in water or 
salt and water, in which it may be left over night, and dried by 
rolling in ashes or loose mould. 

MANAGEMENT OF THE CROP. 

After the Cotton comes up and begins to show its fourth leaf, 
the thinning commences, which is generally done very cautiously, 
with hoes. Two plants may be left together at this first thin- 
ning. When the sixth leaf is out and there is no danger from 
frost, the last thinning may be made so as to leave the plants 
about ten inches apart, and still farther where the ground is rich. 

When the earth is very damp, no cultivation should be 
attempted, as there is danger from rust when worked during 



10 

wet weather. When only moderately damp, the earth mg.y be 
thrown from the Cotton very gently by the plow, and after 
drying turned back again. The hoes follow the plow and re- 
move or cover up all remaining grass. This work of plowing 
and hoeing to destroy the grass and stir the earth, is continued 
until the Cotton grows so large as to become injured by the 
passage of the plow, after which any further culture must be 
done with the hoe. As the Cotton increases in height, the rows 
must be gradually ridged up so as to keep the plants from falling. 

The first plowing may be deeper than the latter. As a general 
rule, -the earth must be kept clear from grass and well cultivated. 
When Cotton attains nearly its full height, say about the middle 
of August, the top bud should be clipped off with the finger-nail 
or small knife ; this is done to increase the side branches and 
number of bowls. Some planters consider topping unnecessary. 

It may be observed that the cotton plant differs from corn in 
this essential point ; it has a tap root through which it derives 
its main sustenance ; whereas, corn spreads its roots near the 
surface, and is hence liable to be much injured by late deep 
working. Four plowings and as many hoeings, will generally 
suffice for Cotton, till it is laid by, indicated by the budding of 
the lower branches. 

PICKING. 

The bowls of cotton mature and open, in the Southern States, 
about the last of August or first part of September, when picking 
begins, and continues until put an end to by sharp frosts, which 
sometimes hold off for two or three months. 

The picking is performed by male and female hands, pro- 
vided with osnaburg bags hung over the neck and shoulders, 
into which the cotton is put as fast as picked ; these when full, 
are emptied into large osnaburg sheets, placed at convenient 
spots ; the sheets are carried home in the afternoon. When 
there is a " good opening," one hand can pick about one hundred 
pounds per day of seed cotton. 



11 

The pickers are cautioned to guard as mucli as possible 
against gathering a small leaf which, when it gets dry, often 
mixes with the cotton and never can be got out, thus injuring 
the sale. ' 

DRYING. 

The freshly picked Cotton is first spread to dry, on scaffolds 
about four feet wide, so as to admit of easy turning it over 
whilst drying. A Cotton house should be at hand in which to 
place the cotton in case of rain. After being perfectly dried, it 
is ready to be ginned and prepared for market. Care in drying 
is chiefly confined to the early picking, before the seed becomes 
dry ; after these are fully matured, very little drying will be 
required. Dews or rain-water must always be removed by ex- 
posure on the scafibld before the Cotton is bulked in the house. 

GINNING. 

Those who cultivate patches, may readily have the seed 
separated in the primitive way, by the hand. For such as extend 
the culture to acres, there are cheap hand gins, and machines 
worked by water or steam power. 

With the capabilities unquestionably possessed for raising 
Cotton, in many portions of the Middle States, our farmers 
would be blind to their own interests and regardless of their in- 
dependence, if they did not take advantage of the present crisis, 
and make vigorous efibrts to obtain a share of the most valuable 
and important crop in our country. 

The culture of Cotton must doubtless prove most successful in 
Delaware, on the light and warm sandy loams prevailing in 
Sussex and some portions of Kent County, especially in 
Murderkiil and Mispillion Hundreds, where the light and open 
soil prevents the long detention of excess of moisture about the 
roots, and at the same time readily admits the warmth from 



12 

the sun, and gases from the atmosphere. On such soils the 
plant would doubtless attain its maturity earlier than in the stiff 
clay lands in the necks and other portions of the State. Early 
maturity is a most important consideration, as it prolongs the 
picking season. 

From the agricultural improvements made during the last 
twenty years — which have been greater than for many centuries 
before our time — we can now engage in the culture of Cotton 
with assistants never had before, and doubtless be able to 
compete more successfully with those who possess superior 
advantages from climate. One of these great agricultural im- 
provements, consists in the means afforded of hastening the 
maturity of crops, through the application of proper artificial 
fertilizers. Having for several years used one of these upon 
other farm crops, and succeeded in bringing Indian Corn to 
maturity two weeks at least earlier, than where none were em- 
ployed, I believe that Cotton may also be brought forward by 
similar means, and quite as readily, so as to add considerable time 
to our otherwise short picking season. 

COTTON SEED. 

A large supply of Upland Cotton Seed, (1,400 bushels,) is 
announced as having been recently obtained from North Caro- 
lina, for distribution through the Agricultural Beaureau of the 
Patent Office. It is to be hoped that this will not be fruitlessly 
exhausted, by being sent into places not offering good chances 
for the developement of the culture, but to those which are 
known to present the best prospects of success. If this plan is 
followed, a large proportion should be distributed to the farmers 
on the peninsula between the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. 



/^ r^. ^ 



COTTON 



IN THE 



MIDDLE STATES 



WITH DIRECTIONS 



FOR ITS EASY CULTUEE. 



,/ BY 

G. 'EMERSON, M. D., 

ArTHOR OF THE FARMERS AND PLANTERS EXCTCLOPjEDIA. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

H. L. SUTLER. PRINTER, S. E. COR. SECOND AND MARKET STREETS. ; 

1862. ' 



